


Met a Chained Man, Found Myself Unchained

by Diary



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bechdel Test Pass, Dog BB-8, Family, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gay Finn (Star Wars), Getting Together, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, M/M, Meet-Cute, POV Finn (Star Wars), Pansexual Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron’s Ring Necklace, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22475953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: AU. Trying to see about a date with the guy you’re working on unchaining from a crisis pregnancy centre, even if that’s somehow not unethical or illegal, he knows enough to know it’s definitely not normal. Complete.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	Met a Chained Man, Found Myself Unchained

People who chain themselves to things are crazy.

The money Finn gets for unchaining them is- sometimes, it’s worth it, and sometimes, it’s not. It depends on if they’re simply the type to rant or stare in creepy silence or if they’re the type to get physical and/or throw bodily fluids at him.

Pulling up to the crisis pregnancy centre (he’s been to more than one health clinic, but this is the first time he’s been to a pro-life one), he steels himself.

“You can do this. Just don’t engage, be ready to duck, and stay quiet.” He takes a deep breath. “I can do this.”

Getting out, he retrieves his tools, and going over to the chained people and scowling officers, he almost drops his tools when one of the former, a handsome man with curly hair and dominating brown eyes, smiles at him with a small wave. “Looks like the locksmith’s arrived.”

“Oh, good, maybe, this one will be a little more humane,” an older white woman grouchily says. “Excuse me, young man, I’m aware you’re being paid to disrupt our peaceful protest, but if you had any decency, you wouldn’t let this stop you from going to our van and getting the patio umbrellas we brought. There are,” she glares sharply at the police officers, “laws against the mistreatment of prisoners and those who are otherwise on the wrong side of the law.”

He suddenly notices, she’s in a relatively shady area, though, this could change based on how the sun moves, and she has a jacket acting as a sort of makeshift veil over her head, but the man, who might naturally be a brown-tan colour, has a disturbing shade of red to his skin.

“Where is your van, ma’am?”

She gestures with her head. “It’s unlocked.”

This doesn’t particularly matter, he can disable the alarm on any vehicle before unlocking it, but this does save them time spent continuing to suffer in the sun.

It might be their own fault, but he’ll acknowledge she does have a point about how pointlessly cruel the cops are being.

Remembering he brought some water, he makes a quick detour to his truck first.

He finds a pair of sunglasses, but unfortunately, he only has one unopened bottle.

Once he gets the patio umbrellas, he offers, “Um, I have an unopened bottle of water. Maybe, I could find some cups?”

“We’re family, it doesn’t matter,” the man says. “Give it to her, first.”

The two have a quick stare-off, but the woman does take the bottle.

He sets the umbrellas up.

“Thanks,” the man says. “What’s your name?”

“Finn.” He knows better than to give his last name to someone who’s chained themselves to a building.

“I’m Poe Dameron. Nice to meet you, Finn.”

“Yeah, uh, surprisingly, it’s nice to meet you, too.”

So far, at least.

“Sunglasses?” He holds them up.

“Him,” the woman says. “No arguments.”

He hands them to Poe.

“Thanks.” Poe smiles.

People who chain themselves to things are crazy and throw disgusting things and rant or stare without blinking for unnaturally long periods of time, he reminds himself.

He gets to work, and surprisingly, the two simply start talking to one another about a future protest. At one point, Poe slides the sunglasses up on the top of his head to better look at her.

“Rey’s not a provocateur,” the woman says.

Poe shrugs. “I’ve never said she is. Oh, sorry, Finn. I’ll try to be still.”

“You don’t trust her.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust her. She’s just hard to get to know, that’s all.”

The woman shoots Poe an extremely sceptical look.

“Oh, crap,” he mutters. “These are specialised military chains, aren’t they?”

Poe and the woman look proud of themselves.

“Leia was military,” Poe says.

“Yes. If I didn’t introduce myself earlier, I’m sorry. I’m Leia Amidala.” She offers her hand.

He shakes it. “Nice to meet you, too, ma’am. You were military?”

“Yes. Then, in the sixties, I met my future husband. He helped me face some unfortunate facts about certain organisations in our country. I’ve been working to reform and, in some instances, outright dismantle these organisations ever since.”

“And- I’m not sure how to say this, but are you two aware that this is a crisis pregnancy centre? Not an abortion one?”

They give each other a look.

“Yeah, we know,” Poe says. “This place is falsely advertising itself as medically licensed, and the city council is refusing to do anything about this. We’ve tried every legal channel there is. Leia is also a lawyer.”

“I’ve still managed to keep my license, though, it’s usually the younger blood taking on actual cases in court nowadays. I run a legal aide clinic, and some of our members are very passionate about keeping abortion legal and accessible.”

“Not that we want you to leave,” Poe says, and he’s struck by the lack of sarcasm, “but shouldn’t you be calling for back-up?”

“What? No. It’ll take, at least, an hour, but I can get these unlocked.”

He wonders if the fact he’s proud of the impressed looks they give him is good or bad.

“Uh, so, you two are family?”

“Poe was my son’s best friend when they were growing up.”

“And my mom died when I was eight. My grandparents and the Solos, Leia’s husband is Han Solo and her son is Ben Solo, were there for me while my dad buried himself in work.”

Catching Poe’s eye, he offers, “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.”

“He’s also single if-”

“Leia, stop trying to set me up with complete strangers.”

“Grandpa’s decided you to need to settle down. Anyway, Finn, if you have any female friends looking for a nice young man or any male friends looking for the same, Poe’s law-breaking is strictly non-violent, he’s good at remembering anniversaries, and he has an adorable dog.”

I’m single, he’s tempted to say, except- no. Trying to see about a date with the guy you’re working on unchaining from a crisis pregnancy centre, even if that’s somehow not unethical or illegal, he knows enough to know it’s definitely not _normal_.

Besides this, he’s not- he isn’t exactly hiding the fact he’s gay, but it hasn’t come up since he moved here. If it does come up, he isn’t sure he won’t hide it.

Sure, he made all these promises to himself once he finally got away from the shithole he grew up in, but life is pretty good right now. He has an apartment, he has a steady, non-soul-crushing job, and aside from the crazy people he occasionally unchains from buildings and radiators, most people treat him decently.

…

Another van pulls up, and when an old white man with a breathing mask and tube is rolled over by a young, blonde woman with her hair up in two buns, he notices the police are suddenly much more alert.

“Daddy, what are you doing out here,” Leia demands.

“Hey, Gramps,” Poe eagerly greets. “Did you bring cucumber sandwiches?”

“Of course, I did, kiddo,” the man answers in a robotic voice. “Sweetheart, I thought we agreed you weren’t going to be taking such direct action yourself anymore.”

Poe takes a bottle of Gatorade and a wrapped sandwich from the blonde woman. “Thanks, Kaydel. Finn, do you want some?”

“No sandwiches or-” The man starts.

“We like Finn, Gramps.”

“Then, he may have some food and drinks, too.” Despite the words, the man studies him with clear dubiousness, and he knows, despite all the medical equipment, this man is powerful.

“Paige is helping her little sister move into her dorm today,” Leia says.

Kneeling down, Kaydel opens a bottle of sunscreen. “Hi, I’m Kaydel. Help yourself to the sandwiches and drinks.” She nods towards a plate of wrapped sandwiches setting on top of a cooler.

“Finn, this is my embarrassingly overprotective father, Anakin Skywalker,” Leia says.

“And this is my stubborn princess who refuses to be sensible like her brother. First, the army, and then, she was running around protesting all the time. And marrying that man- If not for my precious Ben, I would still object to that.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Daddy.”

“Luke’s husband doesn’t go around being a drug dealer, Leia!”

“Neither does Han.”

He can clearly _hear_ the ‘anymore’.

Coming over to Leia, Kaydel asks, “Would you like me to do your sunscreen, too?”

“Yes, thank you, Kaydel. I’m sorry my father dragged you out here.”

“I don’t mind. Something needs to be done about these places. But will you be out of jail for the anti-fracking protest next month?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, we won’t be in jail for long.”

A robotic sigh fills the air.

“So,” catching his eyes, Poe swallows the last bit of his sandwich, “on a scale, where we falling so far?”

“Honestly, this is the best call I’ve gotten.”

“Really?” Poe gives him a surprised look.

“Yeah. Everyone else, I’ve gotten out in thirty minutes or less, usually less, but it’s always ranting or creepy staring or even throwing things at me. One person even tried to bite me.”

Poe winces. “Bet that was fun. Out of curiosity, what were you trying to unchain them from?”

“A health clinic that didn’t provide abortions. But telling her that didn’t do any good. Made things worse, actually.”

“Well, it’d be hypocritical for me to object to the chaining part, but I promise you, none of us condone biting or throwing things, and ranting and staring creepily, I’ve never seen what the point is. Who’s going to be exposed to that and decide, yes, these people have a point, and we should start making changes?”

“She believed all abortion should be outlawed,” he feels compelled to say.

“If a person believes something strongly, them trying to non-violently change things or protect it is something to be encouraged. Of course, we’ve done our fair share of counter-protesting anti-abortion protesters, but unless they take things to a physical level, we’ve never tried to get one shut down.”

He gets the chains undone.

“Feel free to help yourself to the rest of the sandwiches, Finn. Daddy, I’ll talk to you when we get out. Thank you, Kaydel.”

Leia and Poe both position themselves on their knees with their hands clasped behind their heads, and he sees Kaydel is filming them.

An officer hands him his sunglasses back.

…

He finds his thoughts going back to Poe and Leia but Poe especially often, but he’s always found the idea of Googling regular people you’ve met creepy.

Besides, even if he did find out where Leia’s clinic was, what would the plan be? Go in during office hours and say, ‘Hey, remember me? The guy who unchained you from a crisis pregnancy centre? If you’re bisexual or pansexual or something, I’m single and gay and was wondering if you’d go out with me?’

Therefore, he’s not sure how to feel when he gets a call to unlock a car at a Chinese restaurant and sees a building with Leia’s face on the sign right across the street.

They’re closed, don’t go over, he tells himself, and he fully intends to stick to this until he sees Poe with a dog has come up to the building.

Before he can really make a decision, he finds himself jogging across the street. “Poe? Poe Dameron?”

Turning, Poe smiles widely, and he feels warmth flooding through him. “Hey, Finn. You’re, uh, not here for legal help, are you? If it’s an emergency, I can call Leia, but we closed-”

“No. I was just across the street, doing a job, and- decided to go for a walk.”

Nodding, Poe picks up the dog. “This is BB. Hey, buddy, this is Finn. Aunt Leia and I met him when we were protesting.”

The old dog yawns.

Poe adjusts BB, and the streetlight hits a ring hanging from a chain on Poe’s neck.

“My mom’s,” Poe says. “It was her wedding ring. Whenever there isn’t a good chance I’ll be arrested, I always wear it. Someday, if I ever get married, I’m going to give it to that person.”

“Oh.”

“It’s nice seeing you again, Finn,” Poe continues.

Except, Poe is going around the building, and not sure what to do, he follows.

Seeing Poe has picked up a rock- “Hey, what in the hell are you doing?”

Before he grabbed Poe’s wrist, Poe was clearly aiming for a window.

“We got a new security system, and I’m locked out. I left BB’s medicine in there.”

“And your solution is to throw a rock? What about non-violence?”

Giving an annoyingly patient, amused look, Poe replies, “Well, I’m family to the person who owns it, so, this is sort of like if a person breaks a window to their own house. Leia might be pissed, but she’s not going to press charges or fire me. Two, there’s a difference between throwing a rock into an empty building and something like trying to bite someone. And finally, when BB’s involved, I don’t care. He needs his medicine, and I’m getting it for him.”

From the safe distance BB is standing, he makes a huffing noise, and Finn could swear the dog is glaring.

He knows there’s a good chance he’s going to regret this.

Shaking Poe’s hand, once the rock falls, he says, “Okay, look, promise me you do have something of a right to be in the building after hours, and I’ll get you in.”

“If it weren’t for me accidentally leaving the new key with BB’s medicine, I’d’ve already let myself in. But this system is-”

“I got you out of specialised military chains. Come on.” He tugs the wrist. “I can disable any alarm system.”

They get back to the front of the building, and realising he still has a hold of Poe’s wrist, he quickly lets go. Looking at the security box, he says, “Oh, yeah, this one’s easy.”

After getting assurances Poe will wait and not break a window, he goes to get his truck, and once he has his tools-

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Poe looks at him with clear respect. “You- That took less than five minutes.”

“Told you.”

“Huh. Feel free to come in. C’mon, BB.”

They go in, and over at a desk, Poe picks up a box of dog medicine before frowning. “Crap, where is my key?” Slipping the medicine into his jacket and setting BB down in a chair, he starts rifling through the desk.

Along with pictures of various people and BB, there’s a picture of a plane.

“Is that-” He waits until Poe looks to gesture- “yours?”

Poe grins. “Yeah. My mom was a pilot. I was going to be one, too, got my piloting license at sixteen, but things happened. I bought that baby when I was nineteen, and I take it out whenever I can.”

BB ruffs.

“Along with BB. He’s been my co-pilot since he was a pup.”

BB preens.

“Well, I can’t find it. Knowing my luck, I’m going to go home, and it’s going to be sitting there in plain sight.” Poe sighs before a smile takes over. “Thanks for helping us getting in, though. What’s your normal rate for doing things like this?”

“It’s on the house.”

“Are you sure? I have my wallet.” Poe produces it.

“Yeah. It’s not something I get to do often, disabling a security system like this. Good practise.”

“Have you eaten? I could, at least, buy you dinner.”

Say no, he tells himself.

“Yeah, alright,” he agrees. “I like almost anything.”

“Alright!” Poe claps his shoulder. “I have an idea.”

…

Poe had walked BB to the office, and so, they take his truck. Poe directs him to a small café with a name he assumes is Asian.

“They have a mixture of American and Indonesian,” Poe says.

Inside, a little old brown woman happily greets Poe and BB before giving him a measured look. However, it turns into a genuine smile when Poe says something in another language.

After BB is settled in a booster seat covered by Poe’s jacket, she gives Poe a menu in a different language and him one in English. After they order their drinks, Poe says, “Leia helped her keep this place a few years ago, and she’d probably kidnap BB if not for the fact we know where she lives.”

He can’t help but laugh. “Are you a lawyer, too?”

“Paralegal. Have you been a locksmith for long?”

“Officially, for almost three years now, but I’ve always had a talent for getting things unlocked.”

“Well, thanks for all you did. I know it’s probably worse for most locksmiths than for the ones who chain themselves to things, but usually, when people are unchaining us, it’s insults or constant dirty glares. Suggesting they might want to look at the work they’re doing didn’t help.”

He’d never considered that, obviously, people who chain themselves to things are at the mercy of whatever locksmith is trying to unchain them. Some of the police he’s met have truly tried to do everything possible to keep the chained people safe and comfortable, they’re the types who would have quickly gotten the patio umbrellas out and wouldn’t have left Poe and Leia depending on the one unopened water bottle he happened to have before Leia’s father showed up, and some of the police have been even worse than these were, but he doesn’t really have any friendships with his fellow locksmiths. He guesses he just assumed that, like him, they all just wanted to get the job done and would work on remaining calm and polite despite how the chained people acted towards them.

“Where are you from,” Poe asks.

Feeling awkward, he tries to figure out the best way to answer. His usual answer is to outright lie, ‘I moved around a lot growing up,’ but he doesn’t want to lie.

“You don’t have to answer. This isn’t an interrogation. If it were, I wouldn’t be the one in charge.” Poe smiles.

“I come from a bad place that I try my best not to think about.”

“Fair enough. Want to see pictures of BB as a puppy?”

“Yeah, that sounds awesome.”

BB gives both of them a look that clearly says, if not for the fact he knows he can’t operate a truck, he would be grabbing the keys and leaving.

“By the way, I didn’t do this to his ears. He must have some corgi or French bulldog in him.”

The first few pictures have a floppy-eared BB, but later pictures have them standing up. “Rescue?”

Poe nods. “Gramps, Leia’s dad, Anakin, used to be law enforcement. He shut down a dog fighting ring almost twelve years ago. This one,” Poe pets BB, “had the vets assuming the worst, but Gramps called me, asked me to help, and the rest is history.”

One of the pictures has a man around Poe’s age. “Who’s this?”

“Ben, Leia’s son. He’s an ADA.”

“Assistant District Attorney?” At Poe’s nod, he asks, “Doesn’t that- with Leia being-?”

“It can make family dinners interesting.”

BB huffs.

“BB doesn’t like him?”

Giving BB a look, Poe shakes his head. “No. He’s, uh, never been around BB that much. Ben’s a good guy, but- He was fine with having a gay uncle. He supported equal marriage rights before same-sex marriage was legalised. When I got my first boyfriend, he was okay with that. But I think some part of him really thought that I was gay, that the girlfriend I had before that was me just not having figured things out. He’s never really been comfortable with my pansexuality.”

Hoping he doesn’t regret this, he says, “I am gay. I never told anyone, but somehow, people just seemed to know. Suspect. It made my life hell until I was able to leave.”

He did do certain things with some boys around his age, but he honestly doubts they ever told anyone. He liked sports, he was interested in cars, he’s never cared about fashion or musicals (well, he does like the film Chicago and liked most Disney movies when he was a kid, but he finds most musicals boring), and he can appreciate the fact some women are really nice to look at. But somehow, everyone was convinced he was.

If he was inclined to be fair to them, he’s more-or-less known what he was since he was little. When puberty started hitting, he never wanted girls or dreamed of women. After he left his hometown, he tried once with a woman, and she was nice about the fact- he didn’t need to try to with her to know what he was, and he still regrets the fact he did. She definitely didn’t deserve to spend most of the night dealing with a stranger’s issues.

Poe squeezes his hand. “I’m glad you got out.”

“Thanks.”

I have a crush on Poe, he’s forced to concede.

Even though Poe isn’t like any of those boys, it’s still probably not- he shouldn’t have a crush on someone he had to unchain from a crisis pregnancy centre.

They order, their food comes, and Poe tells him about other protests and some of the exploits of the Skywalker-Solo family.

“How are any of you still alive?”

Laughing, Poe shrugs. “Just luck, I guess.”

“Obviously, the most sensible person out of all of you is BB.”

Pausing in drinking from his bowl of water, BB makes an affirming noise.

“He once brought home a baby squirrel. An alive one.”

“I can’t imagine where he learnt such a thing from,” he sarcastically says.

“I never brought home any squirrels.”

“I believe that. I think we both know, though, that that’s only because you never came across any orphaned squirrels yourself.”

Naturally, Poe looks completely unashamed in his expression of acknowledgement.

They finish eating, and he knows he should just- “I can drop you off wherever you want, but would you like to come to my place? For a drink or something?”

Killing himself with chopsticks since the other silverware’s already been taken suddenly seems like a reasonable idea.

Except, Poe grins. “Sounds great. Do I need to drop BB off first?”

“He’s welcome, too. I have water, and there’s a nearby store, if he needs food.”

He might not have any bowls, though, and he doesn’t have anything alcoholic or any coffee, and this was a stupid idea, hits him.

“He’s already eaten for the night.”

BB grumbles.

“He’s not exactly happy about his new diet, but sorry, buddy,” Poe picks him up, “we need to keep you healthy. I can’t just put out a Craigslist ad for a new co-pilot.”

…

BB immediately gets up on the couch, and when Poe covers him with Poe’s jacket, he’s sound asleep.

He manages to find some soda. “Sorry, uh, I usually eat out.”

Healthy or not, he doesn’t know how to cook, and going grocery shopping isn’t fun. He’s always afraid he’ll get accused of shoplifting, there are so many choices, and he feels weird entering price items onto his calculator before deciding whether to put something in the basket or not. Once, he made a mistake and didn’t have enough money to pay for everything at the register, and he never wants to experience asking the cashier to take something off again.

“Finn.” Suddenly, Poe’s hand is on his shoulder. “You really don’t need to worry. I chain myself to buildings, and the stories I told you about Leia are just the tip of the iceberg. You’re the normal one in this room, okay?”

“What about BB?”

“He brought home a baby squirrel,” Poe repeats.

It is and isn’t a surprise they’re kissing.

God, does it feel good. He doesn’t think the few people he’s kissed before will ever become this good at it, and Poe’s curls around his fingers are something he didn’t even know he wanted to feel until now.

When they break apart, Poe bites his lip and looks at him with steady, beautiful eyes. “If we do this, I’m staying the night, and in the morning, I’m taking over your kitchen to make breakfast. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” he agrees, even though, technically, he doesn’t exactly have a kitchen. “Uh, but I don’t know if I have much to make breakfast with.”

Tugging off his own shirt, Poe declares, “I’ll figure it out,” before pulling him closer.

Soon, they end up going to the bedroom.

…

The sound of his radio faintly playing wakes him up, and grabbing his underwear, he slips them on before going out.

BB is listening to the radio on the couch, and he feels his breath leave him at the sight of Poe, wearing an old t-shirt of his and pair of his pyjama bottoms, cooking.

He hadn’t disbelieved Poe last night, but this is still something he can’t quite comprehend.

“Morning,” Poe greets. “Pancakes are almost done, they have banana in them. How do you like your eggs?”

“Any way’s fine. Banana pancakes?”

“A debate classmate of mine was vegan, and when her mom made us pancakes one morning on a trip, I asked for the recipe. I got everything from your neighbours. Don’t worry, I told them I was an old buddy passing through.”

“Thanks.” He sits down, and Poe leans down to kiss him before continuing to cook. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nope. I’m almost done.”

Among the things Poe has gotten, a jug of orange juice is one of them, and Poe’s also found and washed some old cups.

After they finish breakfast, Poe says, “Thanks for last night, Finn.”

“Is it just going to be last night? ‘Cause, if you wanted more, I’d like that,” he manages to get out before he loses his nerve.

At the look on Poe’s face, he wishes he hadn’t. Oh, well, he tries to tell himself. This doesn’t hurt too-

“The government has an open file on me.”

The words are so nonsensical that confusion completely replaces the hurt and disappointment. “What?”

“Yeah.” Poe leans against the counter. “I don’t think last night is going to get you on their radar, but I probably still should have told you. Activists, a lot of them end up with files opened on them. I did a freedom of information request, and from what I can tell, they’ve had me on their radar since I was about seventeen.”

“I’m sorry,” he offers. He doesn’t know if this is the right thing, but he gets the feeling Poe is genuinely unhappy about this.

“I don’t know how I felt at first. I decided I was okay with it. But, uh, then, I saw a picture of me with an ex-girlfriend when we were dating, and this woman, she was a really good person. She also wasn’t political at all, and I remember thinking, ‘What if there’s a file on her, too, because of me?’ I felt it was only right to tell her, and-”

Sighing, Poe briefly covers his eyes.

“I knew she wouldn’t take it well, and she didn’t. Thankfully, from what Leia could find out, there wasn’t any open file on her, but now, she’s going to be afraid and uneasy for the rest of her life.”

“I was in juvie,” he says. “It wasn’t for anything violent, but-”

Poe squeezes his hand. “You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Feeling relieved and grateful, he says, “What I’m saying is, there might already be a file on me, and if there isn’t, well, I wouldn’t be like her. I’ve always known, even though my juvie record is sealed, it could fall into someone’s hands one day, and I knew doing freelance work for the police could get me on someone’s radar, too. Honestly, I never thought it’d be because I fell for this guy who chained himself to a crisis pregnancy centre, but you know, I’d be okay with that being the reason.”

The smile that Poe gives him makes everything in him shake in a good way, and then, Poe kisses him.

“Then, I’d like for it to be for more than just last night. But uh, since I have a crazy job that occasionally requires a lot of my time and focus, and it’s sometimes your job to deal with people like me, for right now, why don’t we agree that we both have the right to see other people?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he agrees.

…

A week after they get together, he comes by to get lunch with Poe.

“Hey,” Poe digs through some papers, “give me just a minute, and I’ll be ready to go.”

Nodding, he sits down. “What are you working on right now?”

“Custody case. I hate working on these. Even when the right side wins-” Poe shakes his head.

“Poe, I have-” Coming over with a pile of papers in her hands, Leia pauses. “Oh, hello. Finn, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He stands up. “Do you need some help with those?”

“No, thank you. Are you here for-”

“He’s here to take his boyfriend to lunch,” Poe says with a wink. “But that doesn’t mean you or Gramps get to interrogate him.”

“Well, he’ll need to come to Saturday dinner soon, at least. Actually, before you go, Poe, I need your help with some filing. He’ll be back in a minute, Finn.”

Poe gives him an apologetic look before going with her.

When they come back, he’s not surprised by, “Finn, could I talk to you-”

Seeing Poe is about to protest, he squeezes his hand. “Sure, Ms Amidala.”

…

In her office, she says, “I’ll keep this brief: Poe’s always been a very self-assured individual, but he’s also a big romantic. I don’t believe in threatening people, but I am asking you: However deep this relationship with him does or doesn’t go, please, don’t hurt him. And again, I don’t believe in threatening people, but I do feel I should warn you that there are certain people who, if you do hurt our Poe, don’t have the same objections.”

“I understand, ma’am.”

“Good.” Tugging him down, she kisses his cheek. “And you will need to come to Saturday dinner soon.”

“Looking forward to it.”

And, he finds, he actually is.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: Leia’s name was originally hyphenated, but she decided to simply go by Amidala once she started her legal career. She and Han discussed what Ben’s surname would be before he was born and mutually agreed to give him the name Solo by itself.


End file.
